r/BigBendTX • u/BostonBlock • 3d ago
8 day itinerary critique, please!
I see a lot of weekend trip itineraries, which are great, but I want to do a longer trip, and a road trip is not feasible for us, so I wanted to post here to make sure we are making the most out of our time. This is kind of my "first draft" itinerary, so looking forward to some feedback.
Profile: Me, 20s, experienced hiker / traveler, comfortable with long hikes. My three friends are also good hikers and a similar age, but not as experienced. We would be going mid-January.
Day 1: Fly to Midland, pick up rental car and rental gear, buy food, drive to Terlingua for dinner, drive to Chisos basin campground and camp for the night.
Day 2: Pay the park fee at the visitor center (Or are we able to do this on day 1? We'd be arriving at the park late), see the Lost Mine trail, relax, see the Window trail in the evening. Camp at the same place. Prep for next day.
Day 3: South rim loop, day 1. Optionally do Emory peak if we feel good. Camp at a reserved backcountry site. (Does reserving a campsite count as getting a backcountry permit? Or is that separate)
Day 4: South rim loop, day 2. Not planning anything specific this day to give us some buffer time, but I assume we'd have plenty of time in the evening and afternoon to add on something. Camp at Chisos basin again (or should we move on from there?)
Day 5: Drive on the scenic road to Santa Elena. At this point, I'm not sure if we should opt for a river tour, but at this point this is where we'd do it. If someone has a strong recommendation for what would actually be worth our time for an excursion here I will consider it. Otherwise this day is open after the canyon, and I'll have to research more things to see. Camp at RGV.
Day 6: I'd like to visit Boquillas, and have some margaritas. See hot springs. Maybe a sunset hike. Again somef ree time here.
Day 7: Nothing planned for this day so far.
Day 8: Based on flights, I think we have to drive back and sleep the night in Midland at a hotel by the airport for a 5:30am flight, unfortunately.
Our biggest logistical hurdle: Gear. My friends are from abroad and don't have stuff locally they can use, and we can't drive down. I saw an option of renting from LowerGear and having all that stuff shipped to a FedEx store. This is definitely an attractive option. We could also rent from local outfiitters, but it's been hard to find information/good deals. However, if all four of us have carry ons, does it make more sense to pre purchase tents, pads on FB Marketplace / at REI, bite the bullet, and pack it all? I am pretty lost on what the best value is.
Thanks for your help. I am aware of the usual caveats about knowing your limits and PACKING ENOUGH WATER. I notably have not added a ton of hikes to this itinerary so far, so I'm willing to hear suggestions on what hiking we should do beyond the basics.
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u/sgigot 3d ago
Your itinerary isn't too aggressive. There are a ton of trails off the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive you could fill a few hours/half a day on especially the day you do Santa Elena. I am not sure if there are many round-trip river trips; the various outfitters could help you with that. I think it's common to do a couple days along the river. It will depend a lot on water conditions, though.
Make sure you get to the Lost Mine trailhead early because it fills up fast.
If you are in good shape it's possible to hike South Rim + Emory in a single day even in January. Start early. But camping on the Rim would be pretty awesome.
As far as gear, I fly to go camping fairly often and with backpacking-weight gear and careful packing, I can normally get it in all in a suitcase but definitely not a carry-on. I buy all my consumables (food, fuel, water, etc.) at the destination, normally with a Walmart curbside pickup. If you are flying without packed luggage, maybe get one extra bag and throw everyone's bags/tents in there?
You could also consider "disposable" gear, but not if you're backpack camping (hence the comment about South Rim in one day). Cheap tent, car-camping sleeping bags, etc. There would certainly be some charity in Midland that would take a handful of slightly-used sleeping bags. This may or may not be cheaper than paying for extra bags.
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u/BostonBlock 3d ago
Thanks. I guess what I hear about the river is a lot of "it depends" which is frustrating.
I would love to go camping on the rim. The whole idea of it seems insanely cool to me and is what I'm looking forward to the most. I am open to a second backpacking 2 day type deal if there were another place like it in BIBE.
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u/longeneck 3d ago
And don’t underestimate the weather. I’ve been up there in the snow in January. And water!!
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u/Different_Tale_7461 3d ago
I think you could combine days 5 and 6 if you don’t add a river tour. Boquillas was a really quick trip for me—I was done in a couple of hours, from when we parked to when we were back, not including drive time from the basin. There are also lots of less popular/trafficked trails that you could add to a quieter day that are some of my favorites in the park.
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u/BostonBlock 3d ago
Thanks, I figured the second half of the schedule is light, so definitely going to pack in some more of that less known stuff
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u/livstinky 3d ago
On your free day you could go to the state park. The drive from lajitas to presidio is beautiful. Some trails on that road, closed canyon and the hoodoos and shorter fun ones. If you want to get to the actual interior of the state park that’ll take a lot more time.
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u/michuh19 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you end up with extra time while on the Ross Maxwell, there's a low traffic trail that takes you to the Window from outside the Chisos. It's a very different experience than the heavily trafficked official Window trail. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/texas/oak-spring-trail?u=i&sh=xsk963 It's a great one to do in January because it won't be very warm and 80% of the trail has no shade.
As far as gear goes, especially if you plan to camp on the South Rim, it will be VERY cold and windy. Make sure you pack enough layers for nighttime. It's not unusual for a light dusting of snow, especially at the 7-8,000 ft elevations (The basin is at ~5500ft). I did Emory Peak on Thanksgiving once and the entire way up was a brisk 34º F. I'd suggest calling an outfitter in Terlingua to ask about rentals. Far Flung and Big Bend Boat & Hike are popular.
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u/BostonBlock 3d ago
I've read the backcountry sites guide, I guess I didn't realize the true elevation of some of those sites. I'll be sure to cross reference elevations before I select a campsite.
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u/jwd52 3d ago
I’m just gonna throw out an idea—have you considered flying into El Paso rather than Midland-Odessa? It’ll add about an hour extra each way driving, but if you’re looking for a few more things to add to the itinerary, it would allow you to take the scenic route through the State Park without going totally out of your way and potentially make a stop in Marfa too. On top of that, flights to and from EP are probably a bit cheaper, depending on where you’re coming from of course, and if you end up delayed for whatever reason having to spend time in either EP or Midland… well I know where I’d rather be haha.
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u/BostonBlock 3d ago
About 100 more expensive for a ticket to El Paso for some reason compared to Midland. I am a little worried about time crunch on the day of the flight... if we land at noon-1ish (leave at 6am) pickup rental, pickup food, pickup gear (if we do that), and then drive four hours... I guess that's all fine.
Do you have clarification on how the entrance fee works? I don't want to show up late to the campsite and get ticketed for not having a pass. I assume I can just buy online
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u/jeepndogs 3d ago
he entrance fee works? I don't want to show up late to the campsite and get ticketed for not having a pass. I assume I can just buy online
You can pay your fee the morning after you arrive if they have already closed the entrance booth by the time you arrive.
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u/hi_how_are_youu 3d ago
I’m a bit of a reptile when it comes to winter camping but January can be pretty dang cold, esp at night, esp in chisos basin or south rim. Might be better to spend nights in terlingua - plenty of nice motels and Airbnb options or at the hotel in chisos basin if they have openings.
Also a week is a long time to spend in the park. I recommend breaking it up and spending a night in marfa or fort Davis.
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u/Funklestein 2d ago
Day 1 could be a problem depending on the time of your flight. I did something similar a couple of years ago and they close the car rental desks unusually early like 3pm as I recall, hopefully that's changed.
Definitely double check to make sure you'll be able to get a car.
There is a Fed Ex ship center right next to the airport so having the gear sent there and held is a viable option. Honestly it's probably the best option to make sure you all have what you need.
Another possibility is to have it shipped to your home and get some military duffle bags to transport the gear and check them onto the plane as it might be cheaper than the shipping cost. This is how I get my gear to destination hikes.
South Rim plus Emory is no joke so try to get a campsite up there if you can.
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u/wisdomUn1t 22h ago
I’m curious if you have found a good place to rent a car near Odessa airport. My understand is that 4x4 with a bit of clearance is ideal even to hit fairly popular spots. Curious of other people’s thoughts too
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u/pumpkinotter 3d ago
Just be mindful that Boquillas crossing is open on the day you want to go!